Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

story

Cirque du Soleil to Open Elvis-Themed Show in Las Vegas

Associated Press
Published | Updated

LAS VEGAS – One month after debuting a surreal re-creation of the Beatles' musical career, Cirque du Soleil announced plans to open an Elvis Presley-themed show on the Las Vegas strip.

Known for its extravagant theatrical performances combining live music, dance and acrobatics, the Quebec-based circus troupe has teamed with CKX Inc., and its subsidiary, Elvis Presley Enterprises, to create the show.

The show will have a permanent home at MGM Mirage's CityCenter hotel-casino when it opens, scheduled for November 2009, officials said in a statement.

The announcement of the show's location was timed for "Elvis Week," when Elvis fans from around the world flock to Memphis, Tenn., for the anniversary of his death on Aug. 16, 1977.

"I am pleased that during this time, when we remember Elvis Presley and celebrate his life, we are able to announce his return to Las Vegas, a place where he truly rose to iconic status," CKX chief executive Robert F.X. Sillerman said in a statement.

Presley, whose singles include "Viva Las Vegas," performed at the Hilton hotel-casino in Las Vegas 837 times from 1969 to 1976.

"And you can't really think about Las Vegas without considering Cirque du Soleil," Sillerman told The Associated Press by telephone.

"Elvis has a unique relationship with his adoring fans in Vegas and a large part of our mission is to recreate the excitement and the spirit of joy he generated here," said Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil.

European and Asian tours also are planned in the next 18 months, as well as an "Elvis Experience" museum opening in 2008. Production schedules and museum sites have not been announced.

Cirque du Soleil, which is French for circus of the sun, started in 1984 and is scheduled to stage 13 shows this year. Five Cirque du Soleil shows play permanently in Las Vegas.

The July opening of the Beatles-themed show, "Love," was attended by surviving band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison.

CKX, which shares the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley with his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, owns the "American Idol" TV show among other entertainment ventures.